Printing device



A ril 24, 1934. w. T. GOLLWITZER 1,955,303

PRINTING DEVICE Filed Fb. 17, 19:53

ADDRESSOGRAPH COMPANY g 1200 BABBITT ROAD.

cwvnumn I YMAqMoo n A aoaaauA (IAOH mama 008i 3 IVENTOR 5' J4 Z baa/.7.Lama ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PRINTING DEVICEWalter T. Gollwitzer, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to AddressographCompany, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 17, 1933, Serial No. 657,307

6 Claims. (Cl. 101-369) This invention relates to printing devices ofthe kind comprising a frame and a printing plate having type charactersembossed thereon and detachably mounted on the frame. The most commonuse of these devices is for printing addresses for mailing purposes andsome users have lists of a great many addresses which require acorresponding number of printing devices. The frame of this type isprovided with retaining devices and the plate is mounted on the frame bya sliding endwise movement in engagement with the'retaining devices. Whle this operation may ordinarily be accomplished easily and rapid- 1y,as required by those users who have an extensive mailing list, theleading end of the plate sometimes catches in the retaining devices,particularly at the beginning of the sliding movement, and interruptsthe movement and presents a difliculty which is not only annoying to theoperator but involves a material delay.

The object of the invention is'to overcome this difiiculty by providinga novel printing plate which will not catch in the retaining devices ofthe frame and which can be easily and quickly mounted thereon.-

And a further object of the invention is to provide a printing platehaving sinuous or serpentine top and bottom edges with square orstraight edged ends to facilitate the insertion of the printing plate inthe retaining devices of the frame and to enable the plate to beinserted with either end as the leading end.

-In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a selected printing device'including a plateembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 s'hows' the plate in initial position with respect to the framefor sliding engagement with the retaining devices on the frame.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the plate partially insertedin the frame.

Referring to the drawing, 4 illustrates one kind of frame with which aprinting device of this invention may be used. The frame shown is madeof sheet metal and provided with a bottom bead 5, yieldable lockingtongues 6 and a plurality of spaced retaining lips 7 disposed inalignment longitudinally of the frame and above the locking tongues.

The plate 8.hassinuous top and bottom edges 9 between its end portionsand these end portions are squared with straight top and bottom edges 10and preferably straight end edges '11. The corners are cut away at 12 toavoid the sharp corners which would otherwise be presented by thejuncture of the straight edges 10 with the The top of the nodes plate,and the bottom of the sinuses at the top edge of the plate are in aplane with the straight edges 10 at the top of the plate. The top of thenodes-at the bottom edge of the plate are in a plane with the straightedges 10 at the bottom of the plate and the bottom of the sinuses at thebottom edge of the plate are in a plane above the plane of the straightedges at the bottom of the plate. Another way of describing the plate isto say that it has a straight top edge with rounded projections and astraight bottom edge with rounded recesses. The length of the straightedges 10 at the ends of the plate maybe varied according to thestructure of the frame and the retaining devices thereon but itwillprdinarily be sufiicient to make them of such length that the end ofthe plate may be engaged with the top and bottom retaining devices. 7

The proper mannerv of inserting the plate in the frame is illustrated inFig. 2. The plate is arranged in alignment with the frame with its endportion overlying the locking device at the adjacent end of the frameand with the lower straight edge 10 of the plate at the leading endthereof engaged with the bead-5. It is not necessary that the plateshould overlie the frame initially as much as shown in Fig. 2 but it ispermissible to do so and just as easy and facilitates the operation. Inthis position the top corner and top straight edge of the leading end ofthe plate are clear of the adjacent retaining device 7 but the straightedge at the bottom of the leading end of the plate is engaged with thebead. This initial engagement may be accomplished by a lengthwisemovement of the plate but it is more easily accomplished by a downwardmovement of the leading end of the plate to carry the bottom straightedge into engagement with the bead. Having initially engaged the platewith the frame as shown in Fig. 2, the plate maybe slid lengthwise ontothe frame without any part of the plate catching on any of the retainingdevices and without any interruption of the movement. This result is dueprimarily to the fact that the straight edge at the bottom of theleading end of the plate will move freely in the continuous bottom bead5 and so also will the'nodes of the bottom edge of v the plate as themovement proceeds; and also due to the fact that the straight edge atthe top of the leading end of the plate clears all of the top edge ofthe plate slide freely in these retaining devices. The other end of theplate may be inserted at the other end of the frame in the same mannerheretofore described. When. the plate has been slid into its properposition on the frame, the locking devices 6 engage the ends of theplate and hold it in place against lengthwise movement.

Instead of arranging the plate in alignment with the frame initially forthe insertion operation, in substantially the manner shown in Fig. 2which I recommend as the better way of doing it, the plate may beengaged in initial position with the frame as much as shown in Fig. 2but in inclination to the frame and then straightened out to alignmentwith the frame as the sliding movement proceeds and in this movement theupper edge of the leading end of the plate clears the top retainingdevice and the bottom edge of the leading end of the plate is engagedwith and guided in the bottom head of the frame in the same manner asheretofore described.

The top edge of the plate is easily distinguished from the bottom edgeof the plate because the top edge has projecting nodes and the bottomedge is recessed and this greatly facilitates the work of the operatorwho embosses the type characters on the plate. The plates are reversibleend for end for the embossing operation and they may be inserted fromeither end of the frame.

It is customary to provide a frame of th s kind with an information card15 bearing the impression of the type characters on the printing plateand this card is detachably mounted on the frame above the printingplate in any suitable manner.

I have shown and described the invention in a printing device of a kindwell known in the art but I do not restrict the invention to thisparticular embodiment for the invention may be embodied in otherprinting devices and I reserve the right to make such changes in theform, construction and arrangement of parts as may be necessary ordesirable for this purpose or otherwise within the scope of thefollowing claims:-

I claim:

1. A printing plate adapted to be engaged with retaining devices on theframe of a printing device and having the intermediate portions of itstop and bottom edges formed with alternate sinuous projections andrecesses and the end portions of the top edge and the end portions ofthe bottom edge formed respectively in straight lines, the corners ofsaid plate being cut away, the end portions of the top and bottom edgesleading from the endmost projection or recess to the adjacent cutawaycorner of the plate.

2. A printing plate adapted to be engaged with retaining devices on theframe of a printing device and having each longitudinal edge formed withstraight end portions and intermediately with a succession of sinuousrecesses and nodes, the tops of the nodes at one edge being tangent tothe straight line in which the straight portions of that edge lie andthe bottoms of the recesses at the other edge being tangent to the linein which the straight end portions of that edge lie, the corners of saidplate being cut away.

3. In a printing device which has a frame having retaining means on oneface thereof adapted to engage and guide the bottom edge of a printingplate slid longitudinally therealong from one side edge of the frame,said frame also having retaining means on one face thereof adapted toengage the top edge of the printing plate, the combination therewith ofa printing plate having sinuous top and bottom edges on the intermediateportion thereof and straight top and bottom edges at end portionsthereof, the tops of the nodes of the sinuous edge at the bottom of theplate being in the plane of the straight edges at the bottom of theplate whereby when the straight edge at the bottom of the plate at theleading end thereof is squarely engaged with retaining means for thisedge said plate may be directly slid into said frame and the top andbottom edges thereof uninterruptingly engaged with the retaining meanstherefor to secure said plate on said frame.

4. In a printing device which has a frame having retaining means on oneface thereof adapted to engage and guide the bottom edge of a printingplate slid longitudinally therealong from one side edge of the frame,said frame also having spaced aligned retaining means on said facethereof adapted to engage the top edge of the printing plate, thecombination therewith of a printing plate having sinuous top and bottomedges on the intermediate portion thereof and straight top and bottomedges at the end portions thereof, the tops of the nodes of the sinuoneedge at the top of the plate being in a plane above the straight edgesat the top of the plate, the tops of the nodes of the sinuous edge atthe bottom of the plate being in the plane of the straight edges at thebottom of the plate whereby when the straight edge at the bottom of theplate at the leading end thereof is squarely engaged with the retainingmeans for this edge said plate maybe directly slid into said frame andthe top and bottom edges thereof uninterruptingly engaged with theretaining means therefor to secure said plate on said frame, the leadingedge of the plate at the top thereof clearing the spaced alignedretaining means for this edge of the plate to insure uninterruptedinsertion of the plate.

5. In a printing device which has a frame having transversely extendingretaining means on one face thereof adapted to engage and guide thebottom edge of a printing plate slid longitudinally therealong from oneside edge of the frame, said frame also having spaced alignedtransversely extending retaining means on said face thereof adapted toengage the top edge of the printing plate, the combination therewith ofa printing plate having sinuous top and bottom edges on the intermediateportion of the plate and straight top and bottom edges at the endportions of the plate, the tops of the nodes of the sinuous edge at thetop of the plate being in a plane above the plane of the straight edgesat the top of the plate whereby the leading straight edge at the top ofthe plate clears the retaining means for this edge of the plate as theplate is slid into the frame after the leading straight edge at thebottom of the plate has been squarely engaged with retaining means forthis edge of the plate to thereby position the top and bottom edges ofthe plate parallel with the transversely extending retaining means andtherefore expedite insertion of the plate therein.

6. In a printing device which has a frame having transversely extendingretaining means on one face thereof adapted to engage the bottom edge ofa printing plate slid longitudinally therealong from one side edge ofthe frame, said frame also having transversely extending retaining meanson said face thereof adapted to engage the top edge of the printingplate, the combination therewith of a printing plate having a sinuousbottom edge on the intermediate portion thereof and straight bottomedges at the end portions of the plate of sufficient length to preventrocking of the plate when the straight edge at the leading end of theplate is squarely engaged with the retaining means for the bottom edgeof the plate to thereby position the plate with the top and bottom edgesthereof parallel with the transversely extending retaining means.

WALTER T. GOLLWITZER.

